SH Diana and SH Vega will operate next year’s cruises, with 2025 bookings for SH Minerva currently unavailable. SH Minerva was also missing from Swan Hellenic’s 2023 and 2024 programmes, and vessel tracking data indicates the vessel remains off Montevideo.
2025 highlights
60 itineraries are available to choose from for next year, spanning West Africa, the Mediterranean and Latin America, as well as the Arctic and Antarctic.
An odyssey on the Amazon River in Brazil and two new Mediterranean sailings are key developments: On October 12, 2025, SH Vega will sail from Bridgetown in the Caribbean down to Salvador de Bahia as part of the 19-night ‘Exploring South America from Barbados to Brazil’ programme. It will include several of South America’s well-known wonders, as well as undiscovered and inaccessible cultural and natural marvels.
The itinerary includes: Port of Spain on Trinidad’s northwest coast; George Town, Cayman Islands; Paramaribo, Suriname; Îles du Salu off the coast of French Guiana; and Belém, Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Fortaleza and Recife in Brazil.
A four-day detour up the Amazon River to Macapa, Iquiqui and Gurupa in the jungle, returning through the Breves Narrows – upriver from Belém in the Thousand Islands region – is a highlight.
The brand-new Mediterranean cruises incorporate sites capturing ancient and medieval culture, many with UNESCO World Heritage status. Some of these can be accessed exclusively by smaller ships. The first is SH Diana’s 10-night ‘Contrasts of Mediterranean Culture’ voyage, which leaves Palermo on August 20, 2025 for Venice, where the ship will moor in the heart of the city. As part of the sailing, SH Diana will traverse almost the entire length of the Sicilian, Montenegrin and Croatian coasts, with passengers able to discover Lipari, Giardini Naxos and Taormina, Gallipoli, Monopoli, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Split, Hvar and Rovinj.
Swan Hellenic CCO Patrizia Iantorno said the itineraries ‘not only build on our pioneering 2023 and 2024 cultural expedition cruises, but also bring entirely new opportunities for curious minds to expand their horizons...’
The sailings can be daisy-chained to create personalised experiences.
SETI voyages: 2024
Swan’s collaboration with SETI – first announced in December 2022 – will continue, forming the ‘Explore Space at Sea Series.’ Nine space scientists are lined up for the voyages in 2024, which offer insight into recent discoveries in astronomy, astrophysics, astrobiology, planetary science, and more, through lectures and passenger interactions.
Now the Antarctic Season has concluded, the series continues into more temperate regions, with nine contrasting cruises from South and Central America to the Mediterranean, Africa and Northern Europe through to early November.
SH Diana
On board SH Diana from February 25 – March 9 will be Dr. Simon Steel, deputy director of SETI’s Carl Sagan Center for Research as part of the ‘In the Wake of the HMS Beagle through the Chilean Fjords’ cruise.
Expert in biophysics and space science, Dr. Benton Clark, will accompany the ‘Costa Rica & Panama Canal Discovery’ from April 20-30.
Joining the ship’s ‘High Arctic of Svalbard’ programme from July 10-20 is prof. Michael Garrett - radio astronomy expert, SETI science advisory board.
Dr. Mark Showalter, planetary astronomer, features on the ‘From Magna Graecia to Greece’ sailing from August 28-September 5.
SETI Institute Chair of Astrobiology Dr. Janice Bishop is set to appear on the ‘Madagascar and its Islands’ voyage from October 26 to November 6.
SH Vega
SETI scientists sailing on SH Vega include Dr. Jeffrey C. Smith, an expert in planetary science, artificial intelligence and data analytics, who will join the March 4–25 ‘South Atlantic Semi-Circumnavigation’ cruise.
SETI Exoplanet Research Group Chair Dr. Douglas Caldwell will sail May 24-June 4 as part of the ‘Spirit of the Celts’ itinerary.
Additionally, Dr. Uma Gorti, astronomer and expert in star and planet formation, joins the ship’s September 9-25 ‘Voyage to the Northwest Passage.’
SETI Institute President and CEO Bill Diamond will accompany SH Vega’s September 25-October 10 ‘Greenland to Nova Scotia exploring the Canadian Arctic’ itinerary.
A brochure containing full details of each cruise, and the specialisations/career accomplishments of the SETI scientists can be downloaded via the Swan Hellenic website, and all Explore Space at Sea cruises are available to book.
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